Controversial West Kelowna billboard taken down

An organization that works to unite and amplify queer voices and their allies took aim at a billboard purportedly doing the opposite in West Kelowna and it worked.

Last week, Advocacy Canada rang alarm bells about the billboard installed on Feb. 4 near Boucherie Road.

They then  launched a petition hoping to build up enough support to sway the powers that be to take the billboard down. 

And by Tuesday afternoon, the billboard was taken down.

The billboard that was causing concern depicts a caricature in front of a Progress Pride flag, with the text: What are your kids REALLY learning in school?

When it came down it was a surprise and a relief to those who had been behind the petition.

“There was lots of concern, so many people in our community have been working together behind the scenes to try and bring awareness and to try and bring attention to this. To see that resulting in the billboard coming down is really kind of a sweet victory,” said Wilbur Turner, chair of Advocacy Canada.

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Even though the board did not have any hate speech on it, Turner says the messaging still could have been damaging to queer youth in the community.

“To see a targeted billboard like that go up really was very concerning because it sends a really harmful message to youth. And that’s the people we’re really trying to protect here, is the vulnerable youth that could be pressured into feeling like they don’t have a right to exist,” Turner said.

BC Billboards, the company that rented out the space, told Global News on Saturday that the billboard was allowed due to freedom of speech. What changed remains to be seen.

When it was up, the billboard directed those who see it to a website called getawake.ca, where a variety of ideas about the so-called “political and ideological indoctrination of children in Canadian schools.”

There, claims are made about the “conditioning generations of children to wear masks, be victims,” and they also take aim at SOGI 123, which is described there as “disturbing” in one of the videos on the site.

The Central Okanagan school board describes SOGI as a framework to discuss sexual orientation and gender identity in a variety of circumstances.

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A SOGI-inclusive school means all experiences and identities are embraced.

The focus on SOGI, even the inclusion of the Pride flag on the billboard, are both of concern to Turner.

“It essentially vilifies a symbol of pride for a marginalized community, which is not only shocking in 2023 but dangerous,” said Turner.

“This messaging about school curriculums in British Columbia has been a common thread among anti-SOGI 123 activists attempting to disrupt school boards across Canada.”

That concern, he explained, is misplaced when one considers that studies show that having SOGI-specific anti-bullying policies improves the school climate for 2SLGBTQIA+ and heterosexual students, reducing discrimination, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts for all students.

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Other local advocates say it was upsetting to see the billboard displayed in such a busy setting.

“We’re taking one part of society and grouping them together and questioning who they are and what they are. We’re automatically creating discrimination and all sorts of fallout from that discrimination,” said Noni Phillips, founder of Free Parent Hugs Kelowna.

On Wednesday, Get Awake Canada issued a statement on the billboard being taken down.

“In the day days this billboard was live, the campaign had over 250,000 views on social media, 10,000 visits to our website and generated news coverage across Canada, which showed overwhelming ratios of public support,” said the statement.

“Speaking about verboten subjects in Canada gets you cancelled. We firmly believe in the right to free speech and the rights of parents to raise their children how they see fit without interference from government and activist organizations.

“The only issues worth talking about are ones that we don’t agree on. A healthy society must allow people the freedom to disagree.”